Ministerial visit to mark 60 years of Credit Union Plus

The Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, joined Credit Union Plus to celebrate the 60th anniversary of their founding at a special event hosted in their head office on Kennedy Road, Navan, on Friday.

Credit Union Plus was started by a group of local volunteers as St Mary’s Navan Credit Union on 20th March 1963, under the stewardship of Michael Woods who was one of the founding members and who served as CEO for 35 years.

It has since expanded to become one of the largest community credit unions in the country. They have a major presence in the community with five branches across three counties serving over 52,000 members, having amalgamated with four other credit unions - Dunshaughlin, Ballivor/Kildalkey, Clonmellon/Delvin and Ballyjamesduff - in 2016 and 2017, becoming Credit Union Plus.

Minister Carroll MacNeill said: “Over the past 60 years you have made an immense impact in your community. You have professionally supported families, businesses and voluntary groups while at the same time managing to maintain the voluntary ethos of the credit union movement. I am so happy to see Credit Union Plus offer new and innovative products for your members – including mortgages, SME lending, current accounts and digital payments. You are on a very firm footing to continue being a key provider of financial services to the community over the next 60 years.”

Phil Hegarty, CEO of Credit Union Plus added: “Credit Union Plus has grown from humble beginnings in a small office on a side street to a key financial services provider to its many thousands of members. We have evolved to meet the changing needs of our members while always striving to offer the highest levels of service. This means that we are well placed to develop our suite of financial services products and ensure the continued strength of credit union into the future. I would like to thank our staff and volunteers, in particular those who have been with us for a long time, for their efforts in making Credit Union Plus what it is today.”

During her visit Minister Carroll MacNeill presented commemorative plaques to former CEO Michael Woods; to Liz Gaffney and Jim White, both of whom are champions in the local community and who have devoted many years to sitting on the board of the Credit Union; and to Michele Gorman who is the longest serving staff member, having given 33 years of excellent service to the credit union in Navan, as well as to former manager, Jim Watters.

Minister Carroll MacNeill paid tribute to Credit Union Plus for their engagement with and support for local charities including Meath Women’s Refuge, SoSad, Meals on Wheels and Jigsaw, whose representatives were in attendance. The event concluded with Minister Carroll MacNeill officiating at a commemorative tree planting ceremony for Credit Union Plus.